Tag: queer TV

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Were Negative Reactions To ‘Real Friends Of WeHo’ Legit Or Unjustified?

The Advocate took a minute to explore 'why gay men hate gay reality stars' with a focus on the recent TV ratings failure, The Real Friends of WeHo.
The cast of ‘The Real Friends of WeHo’ (via Instagram)
The Advocate took a minute to explore ‘why gay men hate gay reality stars’ with a focus on the recent TV ratings failure, The Real Friends of WeHo. Continue reading “Were Negative Reactions To ‘Real Friends Of WeHo’ Legit Or Unjustified?”

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Neil Patrick Harris Series ‘Uncoupled’ Picked Up After Being Cancelled

Season 2 of "Uncoupled" starring Neil Patrick Harris has been picked up by Showtime after being cancelled by Netflix in January.
Neil Patrick Harris in UNCOUPLED (image via Netflix)
Fans of the canceled Netflix dramedy Uncoupled, starring Neil Patrick Harris, can celebrate – Season 2 of the gay-centered series from Darren Star (Emily In Paris) and Jeffrey Richman (Modern Family) has been picked up by Showtime. Continue reading “Neil Patrick Harris Series ‘Uncoupled’ Picked Up After Being Cancelled”

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Russell T. Davies Refused To Write ‘Unbelievably Crass’ Scene For ‘It’s A Sin’

Promo photo for the new 5-part drama series 'It's A Sin'

Olly Alexander in It’s A Sin
Russell T. Davies, creator of the acclaimed new queer series It’s A Sin, said in a recent interview his series might have been green lit years earlier if he’d written a scene suggested by a TV exec. But he refused to write the scene that he described as “unbelievably crass.” From Pink News:

“I was told at one channel: ‘What if it starts on an AIDS ward in say, 1990 or 1992, with the machines and people dying – and then went: 10 years earlier,’” Russell T Davies recalled.

“I thought that was unbelievably crass and literally refused to do it.

“My producer said: ‘I know you don’t like that scene. If you just type it out, if you just type one page of that, it might get made.’

“I’d rather die than type that page. It’s the wrong way to tell it. There was a lot of nonsense like that. Then you just wait for the right commissioner. In my experiences, all the bosses will leave their jobs every two or three years. So just sit still and the right person will enter the seat again.”

And five years later, Davies got the go-ahead for the series the way he envisioned it. Hubby Michael and I watched the five-part series over its first weekend it was available in the U.S. on HBO Max, and we loved it. I highly recommend watching.

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Matt Baume: Was ‘Bewitched’ About Gay People All Along?

Elizabeth Montgomery and Agnes Moorehead in Bewitched (screen capture)
Smart guy and LGBTQ pop culture historian Matt Baume takes a deep dive into the 1960s sitcom Bewitched calling it “one of the queerest shows” he’s ever seen. From Baume:

The sitcom Bewitched is one of the queerest shows I’ve ever seen — which is a little strange, since it’s about a straight couple.

Just a few years later, Soap had gay characters; Mary Hartman Mary Hartman had a gay couple; MASH had a gay coming-out episode. Bewitched never had any of that.

And yet … it somehow feels more queer than any of those other shows. So, why is that? Well, that’s what I want to show you.

I love how Matt breaks these things down showing us LGBTQ characters and story themes were really out there all the time, we just didn’t know to look for it. For more of my coverage of Matt Baume’s insights into classic TV, click here.

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News Round-Up: February 8, 2021

Actor Russell Tovey

Actor Russell Tovey
Russell Tovey (image via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • Out: Actor Russell Tovey (above) says his dad wanted him to get ‘hormone treatment’ after he came out as a means to ‘cure’ Tovey of being gay. • The Advocate: Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg has selected Arlando Teller, a gay member of the Navajo Nation, man to serve as deputy assistant secretary for tribal affairs. Teller, who was elected to the Arizona House of Representatives in 2018, resigned his seat last week to take the post at the Department of Transportation. • Pink News: Soccer legend David Beckham has signed a £10m deal to become face of Qatar, one of the most dangerous places in the world to be gay. • Revry: The queer streaming network has a whole schedule of programming to celebrate Black History Month. The six-part drama Single Record follows a talented and arrogant rapper whose record label could drop him if his next song isn’t a hit. His desperation to save his career will force him to confront his identity, sexuality and bring him to new lows that could cost him everything.

• Jerusalem Post: An Iranian cleric warned followers not to go near people vaccinated for COVID-19, claiming the vaccine turned them gay. Ayatollah Abbas Tabrizian wrote on his Telegram social-media platform: “Don’t go near those who have had the COVID vaccine. They have become homosexuals.” • Reuters: Hackers broke into the computer system of a facility that treats water for about 15,000 people near Tampa, Florida and sought to add a dangerous level of lye to the water supply. “The guy was sitting there monitoring the computer as he’s supposed to and all of a sudden he sees a window pop up that the computer has been accessed,” Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said. “The next thing you know someone is dragging the mouse and clicking around and opening programs and manipulating the system.” • CNN: Senate leaders reached an agreement Monday giving House impeachment managers and Donald Trump’s lawyers up to 16 hours each to present their cases and creating the option for a debate and vote to call witnesses — if the House impeachment managers seek it.